Touch of Black
by Limitless Musings
Summary: With each passing day he found himself liking her more and more. Too bad she was already taken by his best friend.
1. For Want of a Paper

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

 _Summary:_ With each passing day he found himself liking her more and more. Too bad she was already taken by his best friend.

 _Pairing: Kageyama/Kagome_

 _Suggested Listening:_ Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld

 _ **Touch of Black**_

 **Part I** : For Want of a Paper

Kageyama dropped his head onto his desk. This was a _nightmare_. He'd managed to get into college but his grades kept slipping the further into the semester he got.

"That bad, huh?" Sugawara glanced over his graded paper. His friend cringed at the sight of the red ink that marred more than seventy-five percent of the pages. "…Oh." He set it down, scratching at his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm doomed." The younger setter muttered into the surface of his desk. "I have to rewrite the whole paper."

The light-haired male looked at him, "Have you tried the tutoring center?"

Kageyama threw a blistering glare at him, "They _laughed_ at me."

Sugawara raised his brow at the comment, "Are you sure you weren't just feeling self conscious?"

His glare sharpened, "No. They literally _laughed_ before handing my paper back." He thought back to that incident in particular. "I think one of them might've been crying, too." But he couldn't be sure though. They'd been curled up into a fetal position in the corner.

The older setter sighed, "Listen, I think you should try to find someone that can help you with this." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not very good at English or languages in general, so I'll see if a friend of mine can help." A wide grin broke across his lips, "She's really good with this kind of thing. Saved my grade a few times."

Kageyama lifted his head from the table. A red mark splotched over his forehead, "Seriously?"

Sugawara nodded, "Seriously."

Dark eyes narrowed at the older setter, "She won't laugh?"

His friend grinned, "She won't laugh. She never did with my attempts and those were pretty horrible."

Now he was interested, "You have her number or something?"

Sugawara threw a confident grin at him, "We're actually going to meet up a bit later today, so you can just tag along then."

"Okay." He nodded at him. "I'll go with you." What could it hurt? His grades were already in the single digits. It'd take a miracle to be able to pass at the end of this semester. This was only his _first_ semester to boot! He couldn't fail out before he had a chance to get on the university's starting line up!

"Alright, I'll text you the time and place in a bit. I've got to go take care of something for now." Sugawara gave his shoulder a rough slap. "See you tonight!"

He dropped his head back onto the desk. Yeah, right. Now what was he supposed to do in his free time? His gaze slid to his textbook. He _could_ study but his brain was already on the verge of bursting at the seams. His eyes slid down a bit further, landing on the volleyball perched on the corner of his bookcase.

What the hell. He needed to practice his serves anyways.

* * *

"Hey! Are you going to keep practicing or what?"

Kageyama paused at Sugawara's exasperated tone. The ball fell from its high arc, landing perfectly on top of his head before bouncing to the ground. Oh right, he agreed to meet his friend for a tutoring session. His expression dropped. Great, he'd just gotten into the groove of practice. Now he had to switch gears entirely. He grasped the ball and tucked it under his arm.

"Don't look like that. Come on, it won't be that bad." The third year pushed at his shoulders, forcing him to walk away from the court. Many of the other players from Karasuno had gone on to separate universities. It'd only been by a stroke of luck that he ended up at the same one as Sugawara. The older setter had quickly fallen into an old routine with him; their friendship becoming even stronger as a direct result.

Kageyama reluctantly dragged his feet back to the dorm. He needed to change before going to meet _anyone_ at this rate. The September heat had him drenched in sweat.

Just as he was about to go inside, a young woman waved her arms emphatically at them.

"Koushi!" She called out, "Good timing!" Black hair fluttered behind her as she ran up to his friend. His eyes were drawn to the university's emblem sewn onto the space above the collar bone of her shirt. Did she play volleyball as well? It was definitely a sports jersey with the number four on her back. Was she on the Girl's Team starting line up?

He cupped his chin between his index finger and thumb. Had he ever even _seen_ the Girl's Volleyball Team? They had completely separate gyms and coaches. He didn't recognize her at all.

"Thanks for coming, Kagome!" Sugawara smiled brightly. "This is my friend, Kageyama Tobio."

He froze as her eyes met his.

 _They were blue_.

"He's going to need some help on his paper, if you don't mind." The older setter gave his back another rough pat. "He's just as clueless as me so you'll have your work cut out for you."

Kageyama scowled at him from over his shoulder, "You make me sound like a dumbass!"

His friend raised his hands placatingly, "Hey now, that's not what I meant! Anyways," He turned back to the young woman. "Think you're up to it?"

She grinned brightly at them, "Of course! I'm Higurashi Kagome by the way. It's nice to officially meet you."

He felt his face flush, "Likewise." His gaze moved to look at anything but the girl in front of him. She was cute.

"Alright! Let's get started!" She cheered excitedly. Just like that, they made their way up to his room and began to tackle the beast that was his paper.

Kagome looked between his work, Sugawara then to him. His stomach coiled nervously at the building tension.

 _She was going to laugh_.

"Kageyama-kun," She met his eyes directly. "Would you mind showing me your prompt?"

He blinked. No laughter? No tears of soul wrenching sorrow?

 _Had he struck gold?_

"Here," He passed the dog eared paper over to her. It was worse for wear since he'd accidentally left it in his pocket, but it was still legible.

Azure eyes read over the assignment entirely. Then she looked back to him.

"The good news is that you don't have to worry about length too much. Three pages is easy to hit so long as you keep on point." She pulled his pathetic excuse of a paper back towards him. "Grammar aside, your main problem is the fact that you divert away from your thesis easily."

She settled into a comfortable zone. His eyes watched with rapt interest. In the back of his mind, he was vaguely aware of Sugawara leaning against the ledge of his window and smiling warmly.

This girl was incredibly smart. In a matter of minutes he'd not only comprehended the prompt in a way he hadn't before, but he also had a firm outline planned for the rewrite.

"Don't fret too much about your thesis from the get go," She pointed towards the beginning paragraph. "Sometimes it's easier to write out the body and conclusion first before you add in a thesis. That way you can configure it to make sure your essay stays on target." She looked at him curiously. "Will this help?"

Kageyama nodded vigorously, "Yes! Thank you!"

That time Kagome did laugh. It wasn't insulting though. In fact the sound was quite pleasant.

"Don't thank me. You should thank Koushi. He's the one who convinced me to come." She smiled brightly at his friend who was still standing in the corner. "Kept pestering me about it too until I agreed."

Sugawara threw a wide smile at her, "It didn't take much to convince you. Besides, you _love_ this sort of thing." He glanced down at his watch. "Oh, speaking of, I should walk you back." The light-haired male offered his hand to the girl. "It's getting late and I know you have your own exams to study for."

She shook her head, "No don't worry. I'm just glad to help." Kagome gathered up the last of her belongings. She slid the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. "Just let me know if you need more help, okay?"

His back straightened, "Yes!"

Kageyama watched as the two left his dorm. He was still for several seconds. Then he looked at his paper. It was time to finish this thing.

A small smile pulled at his lips. Suddenly, he wasn't dreading it so much.


	2. Progress?

Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

 _Suggested Listening:_ Wolves by Selena Gomez and Marshmellow

 _ **Touch of Black**_

 **Part II** : Progress?

Kageyama dropped his forehead on his desk. He was completely and utterly _doomed_. This was becoming a familiar part of his routine now. His head hit the desk again. Maybe he could knock the focus into himself like this?

"Well at least you made a passing grade on your rewrite." Sugawara added helpfully. His eyes scanned the freshly graded paper. A slight cringe marred his features the further down he got, "You still have a long way to go though."

It was true. He'd _barely_ passed the rewrite. His grammar had been atrocious but at least his use of kanji had been excellent. That was about the only thing he had going for him at this moment.

The younger setter hit his head on the desk repeatedly. That project alone wouldn't be enough to pull his overall grade into a passing level.

"I know, I know!" He grunted in response. "It's only a month in and I'm already behind." He scowled at the thought. The classes were boring, the professors weren't engaging and most of all, half of the cores he was forced to take would be utterly useless in his future. Ultimately, he had zero interest in his classes until they bit him in the ass.

The light haired male grinned, "That's because you got too focused on volleyball. Why don't you take some time to catch up on your studies?" He was right of course, but that didn't stop him from scowling at his friend.

"You suck." Kageyama complained.

Sugawara's grin grew wider, "Hey now, I invited Kagome over again tonight just to help you out." A sly expression overtook the other setter's face. "I _could_ just ask her not to come. She does have her own practices to worry about."

He shot him a withering glare, "I hate you."

The older male laughed, "No, you're supposed to say 'thank you senpai!' Or something like that."

Kageyama sighed through his nose. He slouched over his desk before slamming his head onto its hard surface another time.

"Who are you, Nishinoya?" He threw a disproving look over at his friend and roommate. "I don't think I've ever heard you say anything like that before." His eyes narrowed sharply, "It's suspicious."

Sugawara laughed, "What, I can't make a little joke?" At his stern expression, the young man continued. "In any case we got lucky today. The Girl's team had the day off from practice. Kagome usually does her own exercises with a few of the others though." He shot him a bright smile. "This is top secret from the first years, but next week we're doing an official practice match against them. We set it up as a surprise so that the guys would get a little more pumped."

The younger setter quirked his brow, "We're going up against the Girl's team? Wait, what position does Kagome play? She's kind of short." His interest was piqued. Libero would be his best guess given her physique.

His friend's smile shifted into a confident one, "She's a Wing Spiker. Their Ace to be exact."

Kageyama looked to him curiously, "You serious?"

He nodded, "I'm serious. You ought to see her in action. Her playing style reminds me a lot of Hinata." Sugawara's laughter grew a bit louder. "Just smarter and a lot less hyper active. She's got amazing reflexes though." The light haired male smirked at him, "Just you wait. You'll see what you're getting into. Next week's match will be between the first years and the Girl's team. I won't spoil anything else outside of that."

The younger setter pinned him with a blank expression. Really? _This_ was how he was going to be? He wasn't impressed. Not at all.

Both men paused as Sugawara's phone went off. The older of them swiftly answered it.

"Hey, you on your way?" There was a short pause. "Yeah same place as last time." He shifted to turn his shoulder away from him. Unintentionally, Kageyama began to strain his ears—attempting to listen in on the conversation. He was curious.

His friend nodded to himself, "Sure, I'll meet you down there. Sounds good. I'll take you back once we're done. You too, bye." With that he ended the call.

"Kagome?" He questioned him.

Sugawara nodded again, "Yeah. She's on her way right now. Come on, we can't keep a lady waiting. Now get dressed!" He looked down at himself. His roommate was right. He was still in an old work out shirt and sweat pants that were a little worse for wear. His face flushed. He could _not_ stay in these clothes with a girl coming over.

The young man managed to change into simple day clothes faster than he ever had before. Sugawara laughed as his attempt had led him to stumbling all over their dorm; nearly falling on his ass three times in the process. Where was his balance?

The light haired male's phone went off a second time. Both of them glanced at it before he answered, "You already here?" Another pause. "Sure, I'll go get you now. See you soon."

Kageyama quirked a brow. Was it just him, or was his friend's voice a bit softer when he spoke to her? Sugawara ended the call. He turned towards him and flashed a bright grin.

"She's here, so I'm going to pick her up from the front desk." His grin turned teasing. "You should probably at least _look_ like you're studying by the time we get back up here. It'll save you a lecture." With that he was gone.

The younger setter cocked his head to the side.

Lecture?

* * *

 _He should've listened_.

"Kageyama-kun," Kagome's voice was stern. She folded her arms over her chest as she purses her lips together. "What is this?"

He scowled, purposely avoiding looking at the area he knew she was talking about.

" _Kageyama-kun…_ " If possible, the disapproval in her tone became more pronounced. Nope, he was _still_ not going to look.

He could feel her eyes on him in a sharp stare. Was he being petulant? Probably. But he wasn't going to give in either.

"Please explain to me how a cut shot is the answer to Saito's dilemma in this passage." There was an exasperated sigh with her inquiry. He didn't have an answer. "This isn't getting us anywhere." She closed her materials in favor of meeting his gaze directly. "Let's start with the basics. What are you able to master easily?"

The response was quick, "Volleyball."

Apparently that'd also been the wrong answer. That time _she_ dropped her forehead onto his desk, "This is hopeless. Koushi, help a girl out would you?" She shot his roommate an exasperated look.

Sugawara tapped his chin thoughtfully, "I think memorization is his best skill. He does his worst with languages but give him a formula or something to memorize and he's a bit of a monster."

Kagome slowly lifted her head, "That's good. Which means that we have something that I can work with." The young woman reached into her backpack. "Okay for starters, I want you to write important things you learn in class on flash cards. Don't worry too much about filling the whole thing. Just write one word on each card. You can take separate notes for it in your journal."

He didn't have the heart to tell her that he hardly took notes. It was obvious that much of their test questions came from the textbooks anyways. What was the point of listening to some old bat drone on and on about their 'life experiences'?

"You can start catching up by using your memorization skills to commit these concepts into your long term memory." She pushed a full stack of index cards towards him. "Repetition alone won't be enough, so make sure you take the time to fully understand each concept as you study them." She pointed towards his failed assignment, "For example open ended questions like this one are meant as a way to encourage longer and more thought provoking answers."

Kagome pointed towards a line in the passage, "Saito's dilemma was written here as the end of the age of Samurai. The answer he found was later down here, where he mentions that he'll be observing this new era from the shadows. Therefore the answer to this question would be the reinforcement of these ideals and the feeling of Saito's displacement at the start of the Meiji era."

Kageyama blinked, "Oh so _that's_ what they were looking for." He scratched at the back of his neck. "The wording was a bit weird."

The young woman looked at him oddly before glancing at Sugawara. The other male shrugged his shoulders, a placating smile upon his lips.

"I think I'm starting to get a clearer picture of your learning style." She leaned towards him suddenly. In that moment he got his first real good look at her. She was cute. Long, dark hair that fell over her exposed shoulders in soft curls. Azure eyes that seemed to pierce right through him at every moment. The slight shimmer of lip gloss drew his attention downwards. What were they talking about again?

"Kagome, we should probably pack it in for tonight." His roommate placed a palm on her shoulder. "You'll be late meeting with the girls otherwise."

She jump, "Oh man, you're right! Here," She handed him a small pamphlet of some sort. "Give that a read through. A few of those tips should help you out. Anyways, I have to get going. Ready, Koushi?"

Sugawara opened their door for her, "Whenever you are." The pair left as quickly as they came. Kageyama flipped the booklet open.

"Studying tips for visual learners…" He read the title out loud. The setter tilted his head to the side. Just who _was_ this girl? A volleyball player that carried around items that a teacher usually would? More importantly, how long had she and Sugawara known each other? She'd used his first name.

The young man shoved the thought aside for the moment. He'd think about that later. For now he'd just take her advice. Who knows, this might just be the jump start he needed to get his grades up again. A smirk pulled at his lips.

He would not fail.


End file.
